AG/RES. 1416 (XXVI-O/96)

SITUATION OF REFUGEES, RETURNEES, AND DISPLACED PERSONS IN THE HEMISPHERE

(Resolution adopted at the eighth plenary session, held on June 7, 1996)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

CONSIDERING resolutions AG/RES. 838 (XVI-O/86), AG/RES. 891 (XVII-O/87), AG/RES. 951 (XVIII-O/88), AG/RES. 1021 (XIX-O/89), AG/RES. 1039 (XX-O/90), AG/RES. 1040 (XX-O/90), AG/RES. 1103 (XXI-O/91), AG/RES. 1170 (XXII-O/92), AG/RES. 1214 (XXIII-O/93), AG/RES. 1273 (XXIV-O/94), and AG/RES. 1336 (XXV-O/95), in which the General Assembly expressed its interest in and concern for those who-as refugees, returnees, or displaced persons----are in need of humanitarian assistance in the Americas;

TAKING NOTE of the San José Colloquium, held to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, which identified central issues such as forced displacement; economic, social, and cultural rights of vulnerable groups; and the right to protection in their respective areas; and of the 1984 Cartagena Declaration;

BEARING IN MIND that the San José Declaration represents a regional effort to prevent the phenomenon of refugees and to seek expeditious and integral solutions for refugees, returnees, and displaced persons in the Hemisphere;

REAFFIRMING that the forced refugee phenomenon, internal displacement, and irregular migratory flows require priority attention inasmuch as they have a direct impact on human rights; and

BEARING IN MIND the need for renewed efforts to prevent and provide lasting solutions to the problems of refugees as well as the need to observe universally recognized human rights,

RESOLVES:

1. To reaffirm resolution AG/RES.1336 (XXV-O/95), "Situation of Refugees, Returnees, and Displaced Persons in the American Hemisphere."

2. To take note of the principles contained in the conclusions and recommendations of the 1994 San José Declaration on Refugees and Displaced Persons and to urge the member states to consider those principles with a view to incorporating them, as appropriate, into their respective national legislations.

3. To encourage member states, in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), to study the possibility of convening a regional meeting of all governmental organizations dealing with refugees. Its purpose would be to find ways of providing timely humanitarian assistance and ensuring respect for human rights, taking into account the legitimate interests of the states with regard to the refugee phenomenon and other forms of displacement of persons.

4. To urge the UNHCR to continue its efforts directed at seeking lasting solutions to pending problems and at meeting the new challenges facing the Hemisphere in regard to refugees, returnees, and displaced persons.

5. To reiterate its appeal to countries that have not yet done so to examine, within the framework of their domestic laws, the possibility of acceding to international legal instruments on refugees.